Lots and Lots of Flocks! Bird Report for 20/01/20 - 26/01/20

This week really got off to an explosive start with almost 60 species recorded in a single day. Following on from that we've seen fantastic numbers of birds gathering on the loch and had several new species added to this years list. 

All across the loch you can see many varieties of ducks in numbers as few as lone birds, up to flocks of hundreds strong. However this week they really have been congregating, as just in our small part of Loch Ryan we've seen some substantial flocks on a daily basis. Including their highest recorded count, this list contains; Common Scoter (301), Eider (350), Wigeon (182) and Goldeneye (89). This extends to larger ducks as well, with over 30 Shelduck being seen at Bishop burn on edge of Stranraer. With such large numbers it is easy to overlook a duck or two, but we also managed to find a Velvet Scoter in amongst all the feathers! 

Common Scoter take off from Loch Ryan

Geese are bigger than ducks, so it only seems right that their counts this week were bigger as well. Sole Pink-footed Geese are often seen around the Wig, but this week flocks exceeding 1000 geese were seen flying overhead. There were also some new geese on the block this week, as a group of Canada's were seen at Loch Connell and a pair of Greylag Geese on the Scar. I think I've mentioned the Pale-bellied Brent's every week so far and to no surprise they're still around.  Last week we had the Dark-bellied Brent (who still lurks among them), but this week we observed up to 40 immature birds scattered throughout the flock. This included one adult pair with 6 juveniles, an impressive brood indeed!

And the counts don't stop there, all around the Wig we've seen large numbers across a variety of species. From 60 Shags on the Scar to 182 Teal at Loch Connell, a flock of 150 Common Gulls and over 50 House Sparrows in our garden. As many as 20 Black Guillemots in a day, over 90 Jackdaws in a tree, 29 Slavonian Grebes and almost 200 Oystercatcher on the scar. Many of these are regular sightings for us, but it is encouraging and exhilarating to see birds in such high numbers, albeit a slight nuisance when it comes to having to counting them all. 

A Shag fishing in Loch Ryan

Normally I tend to work my way through the different families of birds, but I've kind of lost that track so I'll continue off course and mention some of our more unusual sighting this week. On the loch itself we've maintained a decent number of Great-Northern Divers (up to 7), alongside a couple of Black-Throated Divers. There was a lone Razorbill, and on the beach this week we've had both Knot and Greenshank. Heading up into the woods and we got some new species for this month. I managed to see my first Treecreeper of the year, but unfortunately missed out on the Siskin's and Snipe. Despite having a resident population this week was also our first sighting for Nuthatches, with a pair spotted on the edge of Corsewall Estate alongside a Great Spotted Woodpecker. 

The woods that run through the Estate harbour more than just birds, they're also a great spot for deer. This weeks mammal count includes a male and female Roe Deer and out on the loch (or rather in it) we've had both Grey and Common Seals. Finally, whilst they're not the first of the year, there is now a great number of snowdrops out in bloom around the Estate bringing a drop of colour to the woodland. 

Snowdrops on Corsewall Estate

This has definitely been our busiest week and hopefully that's only a sign of things to come. As always please feel free to let us know what you have been seeing around the loch and we'll be back next week with another bird-packed blog post!

[All photographs were taken by and belong to Stephen Grover, please ask for permission if you wish to use them.]